“Truth or Dare”
By Rick Stevens, Fiat Ventures
Christ the King
Most of us are familiar with the game “Truth or Dare.” Truth or Dare is a popular teen party game where players are given the choice to answer a difficult question truthfully or perform some kind of embarrassing action. In the classic game, the player must choose “truth” or “dare” before the question is asked. Questions are specifically designed to make the player uncomfortable and often involve relationships or interactions with others present at the party.
In this week’s Gospel reading, we see sort of a twisted game of “Truth or Dare” between Jesus and Pontius Pilate. Jesus basically picks truth and tells Pilate “I came into the world to testify to the truth.” But instead, Pilate gives him a dare anyway. He dares him to go through the humiliation of his passion and death. It was sort of a lose-lose.
But what is the truth? Pilate even asks Jesus this a few lines later in the Gospel. Sometimes truth is easy to determine. Is it true that 1+1=2? Yes, that’s obviously true. Is it true that it is nighttime when it is dark outside? Well, maybe for most of us. But what about those who live above the Arctic Circle where it is dark during the day in the winter? What about stealing? Sometimes we go first to popular culture for the truth. In the story of Robin Hood, stealing is supposedly “justified” because it produces a good end – giving money to the poor. Sometimes our view of the truth is based upon popular opinion. Is it true that fooling around with my girlfriend or boyfriend is okay because other people I know are doing it?
The answer here is no. The one and only truth lies in our conscience as governed by the moral laws of God and attested to by Christ our savior. Truthfulness is doing what we know to be right not out of obligation but out of our natural longing for goodness and happiness.
Some might argue that the truth limits our personal freedom- that we can’t be happy when we are bound by what we see as arbitrary rules. Jesus himself tells us otherwise in the Gospel of John where we he reminds us that when we live outside the truth we become “slaves” to our sin, but “if you remain in my word…you will know the truth and the truth will set you free (Jn 8:32).”
St. Augustine also gives witness to the truth in his famous definition of happiness: “The happy life is joy born of the truth… for those who freely serve [God].” So choose “truth” – I dare you.
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